


blood in your head (feet on the ground)

by babyboyblues



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Band, Bisexual Josh Dun, Eventual Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Folklore, Slow Burn, Supernatural Elements, listen, maybe i had a mental breakdown and decided to write a fic based on slavic lore, non-human!tyler, prolly will add more tags later but no promises, read it tho it's worth it i promise, tyler is the screecher, who knows - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:00:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23597236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babyboyblues/pseuds/babyboyblues
Summary: drekavac (cyrillic: дрекавац, literally "the screamer" or "the screecher"), is a mythical creature in South Slavic mythology.alternatively; josh dun moves to wonderland, ohio only to find out things aren't as wonderful as they seem.
Relationships: Josh Dun & Tyler Joseph, Josh Dun/Tyler Joseph
Comments: 3
Kudos: 4





	1. new beginnings

wonderland, ohio has its perks. for one, it’s a quiet community. some would argue it’s too quiet, but since josh is someone who grew up in busy, busy columbus, he welcomes the silence whole heartedly. counting exactly sixty-three residents, you could barely call it a town. most of the houses (cottages, really) are spaced out and scattered, most of them untouched by humans in a long time. the only consequences the buildings suffer are those of time and weather conditions- it’s always slightly cold in wonderland.

the creek, then, mostly goes by untouched as well- if only by women to wash their clothes, or brave children that get dared to jump in. the creek is kind to the people, offering a refreshing chill on rare warm summer nights, or providing a comforting sound to the residents of houses nearby.

josh had decided to move there on a whim. driving around the state, he saw a street sign with the words wonderland written on it and couldn’t help but venture in. from his car, the small community looked unassuming, welcoming, and most importantly: like a change he desperately needed.

he didn’t waste time in moving in; locals were friendly enough, if a little wary, but as soon as he pressed the bills into a local man’s hand he was greeted with a big smile. “you’re welcome to stay as long as you like, kid. so long as you’re kind to wonderland, wonderland shall be kind to you.”

and kind he was. with his duffel bag of possessions, he clutched the keys in his hand and observed the yard. a little unkempt, but he was never one for gardening anyway. unlocking the door, clutching the handle, and entering the house screamed an unfamiliar feeling to him. _home_ , he thought. _I’m finally home_.

/

today, a whooping ten days later, he slouches on the armchair, bored out of his mind. as much of a home it has become so far, it gets lonely. he’s too old to play with the kids- most of them aged anywhere from three to thirteen- and too young to converse with the adults as an equal.

this is exactly the reason why, yesterday, josh brought home a small kitten. the ball of black fur now sits on his stomach, purring loudly, scratching at his exposed stomach. the company is nice, though he hasn’t named it yet. the girl at the store informed him the cat was a girl, smiling as he bunched the kitten up in his arms. he ponders for a moment about the long stare the girl gave him, the flirty smile, the crinkles in her eyes.

her blonde hair would have done the trick for him, had he been in a club intoxicated, or more than a mile from his home, but he had been surprised to find no interest pooling in his guts at the sight of her. besides, he scoffs internally, she probably expected him to be someone who can take care of her. a strong young man, with his looks- he buzzed his head just a few days before, knowing he would not be able to dye it anytime soon.

he scratches the kitten behind her ear, setting her down for the night. the cat looks up at him with big, beady eyes, but stretches and walks expectantly towards the backdoor. groaning, he stretches as well, imitating the movements of the cat and opening the backdoor to let her out.

he hadn’t seen any dogs near his house, so he figures it should be a safe bet to let her into the backyard. his concern, however, rises as he sees the cat climbing the fence and swiftly jumping over it.

rolling his eyes, he props the backdoor open with one of his boots _. it’s fine_ , he reasons with himself, _cats are like that_. they are, and he heads towards the kitchen to make himself a decent meal, but ends up in a staring contest with the ingredients. he really doesn’t feel like eating spaghetti, again, so he settles for a bowl of dry cereal.

as he munches on his dinner, he entertains the thought of buying the cat a collar of some sort, but his idea is quickly silenced when he hears a loud meow, followed by a rustling… in the backyard? sighing, he gets up, setting his bowl aside.

“fucking dogs”, he allows, even though there’s no one to hear him or respond. he rushes through the backdoor, almost tripping over the damn boot he left there not five minutes ago, but quickly stops as he sees the kitten laying on the ground, meowing and yelping. he crosses the distance between them in a few strides, gingerly picking up the cat to inspect her for injuries. the kitten yelps once again, nuzzling into his chest, but the hairs on her body still seem to be standing on end.

once he determines the worst injury on the kitten is a shallow seeming bite on her tail, he strides across the rest of the yard to peer over the fence. with no dogs in sight, he doesn’t know whether to be alarmed or relieved- he quickly writes it off as a freak occurrence, and curses himself for even letting the cat go off like that on her own.

as he looks over the fence again, he can make out a few rotten-looking trees not far from his backyard. he shivers slightly as he sees what lies just behind the trees- tombstones.

 _ha_ , he thinks to himself in amusement as he rushes inside to clean and bandage the cat’s tail. _just my fucking luck to live two hundred feet from a fucking graveyard._


	2. silent night

at 4:37am, josh stirs in his sleep. he's not sure what he's dreaming of, or if he is dreaming at all- but there is a faint noise, almost like someone calling his name. it might be his mother. it might be his 7th grade teacher yelling at him for falling asleep in class. something moves on his chest, a weight light enough not to constrict his breathing but enough to make him conscious of the fact he is lying down. he opens his eyes, and he doesn't hear his mother yelling his name anymore. he does, however, hear distant screams that sound like someone getting brutally murdered.  
in his sleep ridden mind, he counts the silences. every 7 seconds, a scream… a yell? his kitten does not seem to appreciate it, either. she looks over to him with an alarmed gaze, and he nods to himself. yes, he thinks. I hear them getting closer, as well.

  
he gently scoops the kitten up, setting her down on the pillow. he couldn't fall asleep in the bedroom, anyway, so he opted for the couch the night before. an ugly yellow thing, it is now lit up by moonlight. it looks serene, in contrast to the screaming that keeps getting impossibly closer.  
as he walks over to the backdoor, he just prays to all the gods he can name that whatever is making the noise is not in his backyard. that would be way too inconvenient to deal with right now. satisfied with the emptiness he sees through the door, he turns around to face the kitten. she has a look on her tiny face, as if saying well, aren’t you curious? aren’t you going to check the front door as well? shouldn’t you stop trying to read a cat’s mind?

  
he really should. he drags himself over to the front door, amazed at how peaceful he has stayed through this rude awakening. still, he grabs the door handle, and pauses. the screams are awfully loud. what if he opens the door and a murderer awaits on the other side? what if this is a way to lure him out? however… no one here even knows him. he doubts it’s the girl the other day, and he has not “met” anyone else in his short time in wonderland. perhaps it was the neighborhood kids… but surely someone else would be awake to drag them back to their house by now?  
actually, that’s a good point. he should consult with the locals. he’s a fairly heavy sleeper, anyway, so chances are there’s already a crowd of people outside, wondering what this noise is. this motivates him to finally unlock and open the door, stepping out into the oddly soothing chill air. there’s no one outside. in fact, it is eerily quiet outside- he doesn’t hear hushed voices of his neighbors, he doesn’t hear kids frightened by the shrieks, he doesn’t… he doesn’t hear the shrieks.

  
the road is empty and completely silent. he doesn’t hear insects, he doesn’t hear neighborhood animals, he doesn’t even hear his own heart beating. but most importantly, the screaming… it’s gone. whether it is a triumph or a disappointment, he doesn’t know. was it a dream? or was he just insane? he stands on his front porch, thinks to himself how glad he is he got that kitten. as he remembers the panicked look in her eyes, he has never been more thankful to have confirmation that this did not happen in his mind.

  
that makes it less comforting, on the other hand. if it’s not a hallucination… then what the hell is it? as the kitten slowly crawls out through the half-closed door he is still gripping with his hand, she nuzzles against his leg in lieu of a good night. she sniffs the air, once, twice, and then turns around and walks back into the house.  
josh decides to take a walk, thinking maybe fresh air can help his thinking. it is nearing 5 am anyway, but the sun does not seem to have started waking up yet. content with being alone, he starts to walk in the opposite direction of the “bigger” part of the town. he did not get to have a proper peek at the creek when he decided to move in, anyway, driving around in his car just enough so he would be able to say to himself he knows what he’s getting into.

  
one thing he did remember, though, was the slow and steady sound of the creek. he remembered, because now he was walking in its absence. without the soothing sound, everything seemed just a little bit empty. figuring he was perhaps just too far away to hear it, he stops to recollect his thought and… well. he knows he shouldn’t, but he pulls the cigarettes out of his pocket anyway. right now, he could use the distraction and the inevitable nicotine hit. as he is rummaging through his pockets for a lighter, or a match, anything flammable, he looks over to his house. he hasn’t gotten incredibly far, even though he feels like he’s been walking for some time. he can make out the house, due to the unkempt garden that leads up to his porch.

  
however, a faint light catches his eye. the window of the house right next to his shines in the night, casting a brilliant light not unlike the moonlight lit up his couch sometime ago. he keeps his eyes on the house as he brings a lighter up to the cigarette in his mouth. he closes his eyes as he inhales. his first exhale and the accompanying sigh echo loudly in the street- and then a door. his head whips up, as he can make out a figure closing the door. the light is no longer on, but he can tell it’s the same house. the figure is wearing a hood. he’s just glad to see someone that’s not his kitten, and hear footsteps that are not his own.

  
and then the figure starts running towards him.


End file.
